Machu Picchu Express (Self-Guided 4x4)

Eleven nights in a loop from Arequipa to Machu Picchu and back, driven self-guided, which is the condensed four-wheeled version of the operator’s Machu Picchu route. A Toyota HiLux is included, with a Land Cruiser upgrade, and the price is per person sharing.

Arequipa opens it, then Puerto Inca, a former Inca harbour with free ruins, and Nazca with the lines from the air and the Chauchilla cemetery.

Chalhuanca follows on the climb to 4,200 metres, with llama, alpaca and vicuna along the road and the village of Puquio on the way. Cusco comes next, the Inca capital, with a rest day to walk it, then Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley with its terraced fortress.

Machu Picchu takes a day by train and bus, with the option of climbing Wayna Picchu, the peak that stands behind the site in every photograph of it. Puno and Titicaca follow over a 4,300 metre pass, with a cruise to the Uros reed islands included, then Colca Canyon and Chivay at 4,910 metres, the highest point of the trip, with natural hot springs, and the return to Arequipa by way of the Cruz del Condor viewpoint, across terrain the Dakar Rally has used since it moved to South America. Prices are quoted in US dollars. Eleven nights and a 4×4 make this the cheapest and shortest way the operator sells to see southern Peru properly, and it suits a traveller who wants the route without either a motorcycle or a guide. The Uros cruise being included rather than optional is a small difference from the longer package, and the shorter length leaves out the jungle-edge leg at Quince Mil.